For the past decade, Greg Flynn has been America’s largest franchisee, and now he is the largest in the world. But he a voracious appetite for more.

“The dream here is to create a global business with operating capabilities and success beyond what the world is seeing,” says Flynn, the 62-year-old CEO and founder of Flynn Group and Flynn Properties. “Operating businesses, especially consumer-facing ones, is really hard. If you can do it well consistently, over multiple brands and multiple geographies and multiple industries, that is a valuable and defensible thing to do.”

Over the past three decades, he has doubled down on fast food franchises again and again. With $5 billion in annual revenue from more than 3,000 franchises of Applebee’s, Taco Bell, Panera, Arby's, Pizza Hut, Wendy’s and now Planet Fitness in 44 states as well as Australia and New Zealand, Flynn’s portfolio is more than double the size of the next biggest franchisee.

Forbes estimates Flynn has about 25% ownership with some $2.5 billion in loans and over $100 million in cash on hand. At a valuation Forbes estimates of $5 billion, that means Flynn is worth an estimated $650 million. (Flynn declined to comment.)

“We intentionally composed the portfolio to mirror the composition of the restaurant industry. The reason is we don't have a crystal ball,” says Flynn. “I can't tell you that fast casual or quick service or anyone's segment is going to be dominant forever. In my experience over 35 years, they come and go. So if we're playing a truly long game and we want to give the people what they want, when they want it, we need to be in all of those.”

Flynn’s commercial real estate development firm Flynn Properties has also owned and managed more than 4 million square feet since its founding in 1994 with the help of various partners. That portfolio now includes 101 hotels—mostly Marriott Residence Inns and Hilton Garden Inns which make Flynn a substantial Marriott and Hilton franchisee. There are also six independent luxury properties: Esperanza and Chileno Bay, both located in Los Cabos, Mexico, the Carneros Resort and Solage, both located in the Napa Valley, the Hotel Madeline in Telluride, and the Huntington Hotel in San Francisco.

His balance sheet is also strong. Forbes estimates that Flynn has about $500 million in annual EBITDA profit, or margins of about 10% annually. Depending on ingredient costs and market conditions that impact consumer spending, margins can hit........

© Forbes